U.S. residential electricity EIA data: July 2026 US average 18.3¢/kWh Updated
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Home Office · Minnesota

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Desktop Computer in Minnesota?

The short answer

A typical 150W desktop computer costs about $0.03 per hour to run in Minnesota, or $6.37 a month at 8 hours a day.

That’s based on Minnesota’s average residential rate of 17.5¢/kWh (EIA, July 2026), 5% below the US average.

Source: U.S. EIA, July 2026 data · Updated

Desktop Computer cost by daily use in Minnesota

Cost at 17.5¢/kWh, the Minnesota average (EIA, Jul 2026)
Daily usekWh/monthPer dayPer monthPer year
1 hour/day 4.6 $0.03 $0.80 $9.55
2 hours/day 9.1 $0.05 $1.59 $19.11
4 hours/day 18.3 $0.10 $3.18 $38.22
8 hours/day 36.5 $0.21 $6.37 $76.43
12 hours/day 54.8 $0.31 $9.55 $115
24 hours/day 109.5 $0.63 $19.11 $229

Minnesota vs other states

At typical use, a desktop computer costs $76.43 a year in Minnesota — $134 less than in Hawaii and $20.72 more than in Louisiana.

Minnesota has the 21st-most-expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC. Minnesota price per kWh · all states ranked

Electricity price trend in Minnesota

17.5¢/kWh in July 2026 — ▲ +3.1% from a year earlier.

How to lower the cost of running a desktop computer

Everyday desktop use — browsing, documents, video calls — is light work for a modern PC, so most office desktops plus a monitor draw around 100–200W. Workstations rendering video or running heavy software use more. Sleep mode drops consumption to just a few watts, so letting the computer sleep when you step away makes a real difference over a year.

  • Set the computer to sleep after 15–30 minutes and the display after 5–10 minutes.
  • Turn off the whole setup with a power strip at the end of the day.
  • Lower monitor brightness — it often accounts for a big share of the total.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a desktop computer for 24 hours in Minnesota?

Running a 150W desktop computer for 24 hours uses about 3.60 kWh, which costs about $0.63 at Minnesota’s average rate of 17.5¢/kWh.

How many kWh does a desktop computer use per month?

At 8 hours a day, a typical desktop computer uses about 36.5 kWh a month. In Minnesota that costs $6.37.

Is it expensive to run a desktop computer in Minnesota?

Minnesota has the 21st-most-expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC at 17.5¢/kWh — close to the middle of the pack. Running a desktop computer here costs about $76.43 a year at typical use, compared with $80.20 at the national average rate.

What is the electricity rate in Minnesota right now?

The average residential electricity rate in Minnesota was 17.5¢ per kWh in July 2026, according to the latest EIA data — up 3.1% from a year earlier.

Desktop Computer costs in nearby states

Cheapest and priciest states

Comparisons

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